


Mesh Things.

by jumbled_sentiment



Series: you, your sex is on fire [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (extremely light), Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:40:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24308362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumbled_sentiment/pseuds/jumbled_sentiment
Summary: “What the fuck is that?”“Well,” Magnus began. “This, Alexander, is a thong."//This is part of a series but can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: you, your sex is on fire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754860
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72





	Mesh Things.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, we're back! Only briefly, but we're back, nonetheless. I was feeling randomly shit yesterday so I wrote this to cheer myself up. I've made 'you, your sex is on fire' a series now and I think I'll just post random additions whenever I feel like it. This follows on from the events of the last work but can easily be read as a one-shot if you haven't read that.
> 
> Enjoy!

“I’m sad.” 

Magnus had ended up lying on his stomach with his head at the foot of the bed and his feet on the pillow beside Alec. He’d been propped up on his elbows, absently scrolling through his phone, when he’d heard the words being quietly muttered into the space between them. 

“You’re sad?” he asked, craning his neck in Alec’s direction. 

“Mhhmm,” Alec affirmed. He wasn’t quite looking at Magnus, instead staring at a section of the bed in between them. “Not really sure why. I just feel a bit...” He shrugged; train of thought abandoned. 

Magnus pulled himself upright and spun around to face Alec, tucking his legs underneath himself. “That’s fine. I mean, that’s understandable.” He shifted forward on the bed, close enough to reach out a hand. “It happens to the best of us,” he soothed. “What can we do?” 

Alec looked up, a dazed quality about his eyes. “Hmm?” 

Frowning, Magnus asked, “You’re sure there’s no reason? Nothing in particular?” 

Alec shook his head. “No, just... I’m not sure. You know when you just feel...” He searched for something that could describe how he was feeling, an eloquent way to articulate himself, but in the end had to settle for what he felt was most accurate. “Shit?” 

Magnus huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” He shuffled even further up the bed, this time close enough to rest both hands on Alec’s outstretched leg. His usual desire to be close to those he cared about became more of an instinct as soon as that person declared any ounce of unhappiness. Magnus had always been a very tactile person, expressing himself with his touch and affection in moments that others might choose to use words, and moments like this only served to multiple that tendency tenfold. He wanted to show Alec that he wasn’t alone with an arm slung around his shoulders. Magnus wanted to hold Alec as closely to his chest as was humanly possible to comfort the aching sadness within him. It wasn’t only for the other man’s benefit, either. The urge to pull Alec into his embrace and keep him there until the world was right again was derived equally from his need to comfort, and the knowledge that he himself could not relax until the ones he loved were content. “What can we do?” he asked again. 

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Alec admitted. The defeated line of his shoulders was a blunt knife through his boyfriend’s chest. “Would you mind if I stayed over?” 

“Oh.” Magnus had already assumed that he was going to, but Alec always had to ask. He’d pulled Magnus aside after work and ever so politely enquired about his plans for the night. Of course, he’d been enthusiastically informed that Magnus’ diary was entirely empty, but he hadn’t taken that as permission to spend the night. “Of course not, Alec. You’re always welcome here, you know that, right?” 

He didn’t anticipate an answer to his question, Alec’s small nod actually surpassing his expectations. 

“Good,” Magnus murmured. “That’s settled then.” 

“Thanks,” Alec muttered. “For getting it, I mean. I hate complaining like this.” 

Magnus took that as his cue to remove the existing space between them. He shuffled the rest of the way up the bed and curled his arm around Alec’s shoulders, bringing the other around his front so he could latch both hands together. Once he was sufficiently attached to Alec, he said, “I know exactly what you mean, but please, you’re not complaining. You’re just expressing yourself, and I’m so glad that you are.” He rested his head into the crook of Alec’s neck and exhaled a deep breath. “I’d hate for you to be sat here miserable and not tell me.” 

He felt Alec nod against him. “Thanks.” 

“Stop thanking me,” Magnus chastised. He lifted his head and pressed a kiss to Alec’s cheek. “Is there anything I can do? Music? Netflix? Vegan hot chocolate? Some comfort sex?” 

Alec huffed. “Do I have to pick one, or can I have all of them?” 

Magnus grinned. “You can have as many of them as you like.” 

“Uh, actually. Have you got any clothes I could borrow?” Alec asked. “This shirt is making me feel suffocated.” He quickly added, “I know that’s a bit stupid–” 

“Not stupid,” Magnus interrupted. “I have plenty. What were you thinking of, exactly?” He pulled himself off Alec and bounded over to his wardrobe. “If you’re looking for something comfortable, I have a purple shirt with the words Freewheeling Bisexual printed onto it. It’s extremely soft, and rather dashing, if I do say so myself.” 

Alec raised an eyebrow. “You must be joking?” 

One look at Magnus, and he immediately regretted that assumption. “Alexander, I do not joke about fashion.” Without hesitation, he flung open his wardrobe doors and dived in. It didn’t surprise Alec that he knew exactly where the shirt was located, but he was slightly impeded by the fact that there were so many clothes stuffed into one small space. Magnus had frequently vocalised his lifelong dream of having a walk-in wardrobe, and now Alec could see why that might be necessary. Seconds later, Magnus had managed to pull free the article in question. He hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest, the shirt was indeed bright purple with the words Freewheeling Bisexual sprawled across the front. “It was a gift from Catarina, if you’re wondering,” he explained. “Or, if you wanted something warmer...” He trailed off as he threw himself headfirst back into the extensive collection. 

“Magnus, you better not pull anything pink of out of there,” Alec muttered. 

“You read my mind!” Magnus beamed as he held out a thick, long jumper in a deep, solid pink. “I think you could pull this off, Alexander.” 

Alec smiled. “Nobody except you could pull that off.” 

Magnus knew that there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d get Alec modelling any of the items he’d selected so far, but he’d managed to make him smile. “Oh, you know what else I have?” 

“I’m actually slightly concerned now,” Alec said, watching Magnus make his way over to the chest of drawers beside his bed. “Please don’t give me nightmares,” he begged. Magnus feigned innocence, but the slight smirk gave his whole game away. Alec watched in horror as he pulled out what appeared to be a strip of mesh from his top drawer, before realising that what he was looking at was actually a ghastly thong with an entirely mesh front. “What the fuck is that?” 

“Well,” Magnus began. “This, Alexander, is a thong,” he explained, but his laughter soon took over. He collapsed on the bed, cackling as he held the dastardly thing aloft. “It was a gift from Catarina. I can imagine it’s the furthest thing from comfortable, but I’ve never actually worn it before, so I figured...” He had to pause as the urge to laugh overtook his willpower for just a moment. “I figured that it might be more polite than giving you something I’ve already worn.” 

By that point, Magnus had descended into hysterics. It would have been impossible not to crack a smile watching a stranger cackle that much, but the fact that it was Magnus brought a whole new level of joy to Alec. For the first time in hours, he let out a genuine laugh as the silliness got the better of him. Magnus was howling, the hilarity of the situation completely getting carried away with itself. Neither of them were even sure of what they were amused by anymore, but it didn’t really matter. Finally, Alec managed to choke out, “Yeah, sure Magnus. The mesh thong is more polite than an old hoodie.” 

“Yes, I thought so,” he agreed, shoulders still shaking. “I have a matching bralette too.” 

“Oh for fucks sake,” Alec laughed. “Catarina?” 

Magnus nodded. “Catarina.” 

“Fuck,” Alec breathed, sprawling himself carelessly on the bed. “I’m not wearing any of those things.” 

“I know.” Magnus winked. “You’d look hot though.” He held up his hands as Alec opened his mouth to retort. “I know, I know. I’ll get you something plain and boring.” 

“I prefer the word simple, but whatever.” 

It took seconds for Magnus to find what he was looking for. Even in his stuffed-to-bursting wardrobe, his clothes still managed to be more organised than Alec’s. “Here,” he said, holding out a large black t-shirt and grey joggers. 

“Thanks,” Alec said, accepting the offering and pulling his shirt over his head without hesitation. 

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Wow. If I’d have known you were going to do a strip tease, I’d have insisted on the mesh set after all.” 

“I am not doing a strip tease!” Alec complained, shoving the black shirt quickly over his head. 

“You most certainly are, my darling.” 

“Not,” Alec grumbled. 

“Aww, aren’t you sweet when you’re being grumpy,” Magnus teased. The glare he received in turn was entirely baseless, but he humoured Alec, nonetheless. “Don’t get angry with me,” he cooed. “I’m only being complimentary.” Alec’s lip twitched, but the rest of his face remained entirely displeased. Magnus shoved the rest of his clothes away while Alec pulled on the sweatpants, neatly folding his work clothes and placing them on top of Magnus’ drawers. Once he’d grouchily thrown himself back onto the bed, Magnus slowly crawled his way over. “You know you want to laugh,” he whispered. “Just let it out.” 

Alec shook his head. “Don’t know what you mean.” 

“I have lace ones too, if you’d prefer,” Magnus offered. 

That was too much for Alec, and he once again began to convulse with laughter. It was ridiculous, and silly, and Alec had no idea how talking about lace underwear was cheering him up, but it was. He was damned if he was going to question it. “Come here,” he said, once the guffawing was under control. Magnus didn’t need to be told twice, and scooted right up the bed into Alec’s open arms. He settled his head onto Alec’s chest and almost purred as he felt the soft scrapes against his scalp. Gently, Alec brushed his fingers through the strands, twirling it and parting it as he pleased. It was difficult to determine who was most relaxed, though the noises that Magnus was making did suggest that he was slightly in the lead. “You falling asleep on me?” Alec whispered. 

“Certainly not,” Magnus murmured. He tried to be indignant, but it didn’t quite work. 

Alec smiled. “It’s fine if you are.” 

Magnus groaned and pulled himself upright. He shook his head as if to rid himself of the unwanted drowsiness. “No, I’m up. I’m awake. Let’s do something. Do you want comfort food or comfort sex? It’s up to you.” 

“Magnus,” Alec laughed. “You can’t... you...” He shook his head bemusedly. “Have you ever had any shame?” 

“Nope,” Magnus replied. “None at all. What does it feel like? Can’t be good, I imagine.” 

“It’s not.” Alec sighed. “Maybe we can just watch Netflix or something? I mean, no offense. I just kinda want to sleep it off though. I’m sure I’ll wake up fine.” 

Magnus smiled. “Of course. I’ll even let you pick, no complaints.” 

“I need to get sad more often,” Alec remarked. 

“No, you don’t,” Magnus said, leaning over to the nightstand for his laptop. 

It took less than five minutes for them to settle on a show. Alec chose Eastsiders, something that he’d stumbled across earlier that week in first few hours of a morning. He’d been trying to lull himself into unconsciousness with terrible television but surprisingly, the first episode had captivated him. He’d gotten halfway through the second episode before switching it off, deciding to save it for when he could watch it with Magnus. It seemed like it might be his kind of thing, though Alec wasn’t really sure. Neither of them were the type to spend much time in front of the television, and he actually had no idea what sort of thing Magnus Bane liked to watch. He needn’t have worried though, as the other man ended up being just as enthralled as he had. 

They barely moved for the next hour, lying side by side in Magnus’ bed with the laptop propped between them. Alec still felt sad, and his inability to find a reason was indefinitely worse than if he’d had one, but he felt less hopeless about it. He hadn’t burdened himself with the task of covering his inexplicable turmoil and had instead been honest, allowed himself to have a self-pitying few hours. It didn’t solve the problem, but it definitely didn’t serve to create another. He had been right about sleeping it off and feeling better the next morning, and one of the first things he processed the next morning was his relief. It was still a new feeling, waking up unable to tell whether he was wrapped around Magnus or if Magnus was wrapped around him. Alec wasn’t sure if it would ever get old. 

Trying to slip out of their embrace was trickier than he’d envisioned. “S’okay, ‘m awake,” Magnus mumbled. 

“Oh good,” Alec whispered. He unraveled his limbs and regretfully exited their cocoon of warmth to get himself a glass of water. One glance at his phone reassured him that they had at least another hour until they’d have to start getting ready for work. If he was lucky, he’d be able to sneak back between the covers and fall straight back to sleep. Yesterday’s haze was gone and Alec felt as invigorated as he would expect to at five thirty in the morning. There was no assurance that he wouldn’t sink into another arbitrary low mood again tonight, but he knew that it wouldn’t matter if he did. Magnus would be there with him, listening to his meaningless woes, letting Alec play with his hair while they fell asleep and of course, offering to model an almost entirely mesh thong. What more could Alec want?


End file.
